This is one of a range of simple, square bars of chocolate that Thorntons are doing at the moment. I’m not entirely sure what makes it “Special”, but it does seem a bit of an odd way to describe toffee. I found myself wondering if it was part of the “OK Once You Get To Know It” range, made with “Not Too Bad Really” cocoa beans. But that probably has more to do with the strange ways my mind works than Thorntons product naming policies.

First impressions are everything, so I was a little disappointed when I opened the (well designed) cardboard box to find the chocolate wrapped in plastic. It may have “unwrap me – eat me – love me” stamped all over it, but it’s still plastic. It’s ugly, difficult to recycle, and there’s really no need for it.

The ridiculousness of this situation is only emphasised by the wording on the back of the box:

I mean, come on. “We’d love you to recycle this…. but you can’t”. Why even bother?

But my mood was lifted somewhat when I opened the plastic and was greeted by a wonderful toffee aroma.

And I’m glad to say, it tastes as good as it smells. The flavour reminded me of the caramel part of Hotel Chocolat’s Triple Wham Bam Slab. It’s a little sweet, but it’s packed full of tiny “shards” of toffee that give it a delicious, slightly burnt taste. Think of it as having tiny pieces of ground up Daim Bar in it, and you’d be on the right track.

Despite not being a fan of the packaging, I really enjoyed this bar. I even had to put it back in the box and hide it from myself so I wouldn’t eat it in one go.

(Unfortunately, precisely 7 minutes later I found where I’d hidden it and demolished the rest of the bar. Oh well… back to Thorntons I guess…)

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I’ve heard from a ‘little birdy here’ in Australia that Thorntons might make its way down here. Judging from this bar, I should be excited and, perhaps, hopeful that they’ll sort out some decent 100% recyclable packaging by that time.